Asian stocks close with gains, European market higher

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) – Asian stock markets closed with gains on Thursday, while European stock exchanges were higher.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, was up 45 points, or 1.37%, to 3,350 points at 0910GMT.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange was the best performer of the day, increasing 461 points, or 1.75%, to 26,847.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, rose 329 points, or 1.65%, to 20,276.

China’s Shanghai stock exchange increased 17 points, or 0.58%, to finish at 2,975.

India's Sensex benchmark gained 923 points, or 1.63%, to 57,744, while the Singapore index rose 21 points, or 0.65%, to 3,342.

In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, increased 5.76 points, or 1.3%, to 450.07 points at 0915 GMT.

London's FTSE 100 rose 62 points, or 0.84%, to 7,488, while Germany's DAX 30 gained 272 points, or 1.97%, to reach 14,066.

France's CAC 40 was up 126 points, or 1.97%, to 6,572, and Italy's FTSE MIB climbed 410 points, or 1.72%, to 24,240 at the time.

Spain's IBEX 35 added 69 points, or 0.81%, to reach 8,546.